Artificial Intelligence is an area of computer science that focuses the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. See our independently curated list of ETFs to play this theme here.

Blockchain technology allows for a recorded incorruptible decentralized digital ledger of all kinds of transactions to be distributed on a network. See our independently curated list of ETFs to play this theme here.

ESG Investing is the consideration of environmental, social and governance factors alongside financial factors in the investment decision–making process. See our independently curated list of ETFs to play this theme here.

Marijuana is often referred to as weed, MJ, herb, cannabis and other slang terms. It’s the green or gray dried flowers of Cannabis sativa. See our independently curated list of ETFs to play this theme here.

“MLPs have gone through a transition of rectifying their balance sheets, changing your corporate structures. The energy space are on firmer footing as well as we go forward. So, we do think there’s an opportunity going forward as the energy markets continue to work through their recent problems,” Todd Sunderland, Partner and Head of Risk Management and Quant Strategies at Cushing Asset Management, said at Inside ETFs.

To improve tax efficiency, these MLP-related ETFs limit exposure to MLPs to 24% at each quarterly rebalance. Traditional MLP funds that hold more than 25% of their portfolios in MLPs are structured as C-Corporations and must pay corporate income tax on distributions before passing them on to investors, which incurs additional tax headaches come tax season that translates to lower overall returns.

On the other hand, the Cushing MLP ETFs include exposure to other mid-stream companies on top of traditional MLP exposures. Specifically, XLEY includes energy sector names taken from the S&P 500 Energy Index. XLSY includes components from the S&P 500 Energy and S&P 500 Materials Indices. XLTY incorporates holdings from the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Lastly, XLUY includes S&P 500 Utility Index components. The ETFs also have a focus on income generation with components reweighted by their yield.

For more ETF-related commentary from Tom Lydon and other industry experts, visit our video category on ETFtrends.com.